UN removes ex-President Ghani from heads of state list

According to reports, the United Nations has removed Afghanistan's former president Ashraf Ghani's name from its list of heads of state.

The name of ex-foreign minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar has also been removed from the list of ministers for foreign affairs, reports claim. Ghani had fled Afghanistan after the Taliban stormed Kabul in August last year.

Reports claim the UN has put Naseer Ahmad Faiq as Chargé affairs of Afghanistan on the list of permanent representatives of states to the UN.

Also Read: Did Ashraf Ghani flee Afghanistan with a lot of money? US watchdog to investigate

Ghulam Mohammad Ishaczai had earlier resigned as the ambassador and permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN.

Ashraf Ghani had said he had decided to flee Afghanistan in a matter of minutes with "no inkling" that it would be his last day in the country. Ghani said the security at the presidential palace had "collapsed" while asserting that security men were incapable of defending him.

Ghani is reportedly in the United Arab Emirates. Ghani said leaving the country was "the hardest thing" he had undertaken amid criticism that he had abandoned the country.

"I had to sacrifice myself in order to save Kabul and to expose the situation for what it is: a violent coup, not a political agreement," he said. The former president had said he was being made a "scapegoat" amid the Taliban's sudden takeover of the country as the US troops exited in a hurry last year.

Ghani lamented that he was being "painted in total black" and that "it became an American issue, not an Afghan issue."

(With inputs from Agencies)